Steve Carell stars in the upcoming computer-animated 3D film from Universal, â€œDespicable Me.â€

A man (voiced by Steve Carell) whoâ€™s in the midst of making plans to steal the moon is sidetracked when heâ€™s put in charge of three orphans in this computer-generated 3-D animated film by directors Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin. Jason Segel, Kristen Wiig, Will Arnett, Danny McBride, Russell Brand, and Julie Andrews also lend their voices to the Universal Pictures production.

Somehow we managed to miss the first trailer for Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainmentâ€™s 3D cartoon fest of daftness, Despicable Me, but this time weâ€™ve caught it hot off the electronic presses, ready to pass on to the adoring public. The film, if you havenâ€™t heard about it, is set in a nameless American suburb where the worldâ€™s number two Super Villain Gru is planning the theft of the moon. However, once three orphaned girls latch onto him, thereâ€™s sure to be some sort of emotional twist in the tale, etc etc.

However, never mind all that; whatâ€™s important here is that the animation looks almost as good as something out of Pixarâ€™s imaginative little heads, and the film looks ready with all kinds of daft slapstick fun, as evidenced by the fantastically silly trailer above (where Gru does battle with his arch nemesis and number one Super Villain Vector). The voice cast looks good as well: Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Kristen Wiig, Will Arnett, Danny McBride, Jemaine Clement, Miranda Cosgrove and Julie Andrews. Eep. The flick is out in the States on 10 July next year, so keep â€˜em peeled.